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Probably the oddest animal on the savannah, these pictures are mainly of the Southern Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa at Pilanesburg, although there are some lighter-coloured individuals from Namibia there too.
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Redbilled oxpeckers on the flank of a giraffe, below.
 | Giraffe necking, early one morning. Bulls only stay with females for a short period of time, yet this is an oddly moving, tender thing to see. |
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Because of the length of giraffe necks, blood has to be pumped at high pressure to reach the head, and the neck arteries have special valves. This high pressure means that it is dangerous for giraffes to keep their heads down for long. They sometimes nibble on bones, for calcium for their own sketetons.
Bending to drink also makes them vulnerable to predators, although a fully grown giraffe has been seen to lift a crocodile clean out of the water, when it's head was grabbed. They also have a lethal kick.
I love their combination of unworldly shape yet surprising elegance, sailing across the landscape like slow, dignified dinosaurs.
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